Rachael French
@drrachaelf.bsky.social
Chair of Biology @SJSU, nerd, mom, Social Justice Ranger. The Matriarchy is Coming. She/Her. Opinions are my own. I swear a lot. drrachaelfrench on Threads.
Pinned
Rachael French
@drrachaelf.bsky.social
· Oct 19
In honor of being put on a science communicators list, I thought I’d bring back my most popular science communication thread from Twitter, before I never go there again.
This was in response to Ted Cruz asking AOC “what, exactly, is a Y chromosome?”
Read on if you want to know…
This was in response to Ted Cruz asking AOC “what, exactly, is a Y chromosome?”
Read on if you want to know…
Reposted by Rachael French
This move is based on pseudoscientific nonsense. Just ftr.
The International Olympic Committee is set to ban trans and intersex women from competition. This is despite the fact that for 20 years, the IOC has allowed trans athletes to compete and only 1 has ever competed and none have ever won a medal.
www.the-independent.com/sport/olympi...
www.the-independent.com/sport/olympi...
IOC set to introduce blanket ban on transgender women in female sport
The ban is reportedly expected to come into effect early next year
www.the-independent.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:05 AM
This move is based on pseudoscientific nonsense. Just ftr.
Re: Pluribus…I will never stop being salty about how careless biologists in TV/film apparently have to be to advance the plot.
November 10, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Re: Pluribus…I will never stop being salty about how careless biologists in TV/film apparently have to be to advance the plot.
Reposted by Rachael French
Let me get this right… a sufficient number Senate Democrats appear to be willing to reopen government to alleviate air travel for upper & upper-middle income people at the expense of access to healthcare for lower income people. Yes?
November 9, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Let me get this right… a sufficient number Senate Democrats appear to be willing to reopen government to alleviate air travel for upper & upper-middle income people at the expense of access to healthcare for lower income people. Yes?
The Emperor’s New Groove is by far the funniest Disney film ever.
November 9, 2025 at 9:25 PM
The Emperor’s New Groove is by far the funniest Disney film ever.
Do I have the only teenager who does not want to learn to drive?
I am the one doing the driving of the driving , here. Because somebody who isn’t me needs to take these kids to school someday
I am the one doing the driving of the driving , here. Because somebody who isn’t me needs to take these kids to school someday
November 9, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Do I have the only teenager who does not want to learn to drive?
I am the one doing the driving of the driving , here. Because somebody who isn’t me needs to take these kids to school someday
I am the one doing the driving of the driving , here. Because somebody who isn’t me needs to take these kids to school someday
Reposted by Rachael French
I have had a long week, but mostly a successful one. And I think I may just go home early.
November 7, 2025 at 11:40 PM
I have had a long week, but mostly a successful one. And I think I may just go home early.
People literally try to make us think this guy is nice by saying he did the absolute least required of a human being in interacting with other human beings.
Shows you they know how low the bar actually is, and also possibly shows you what terrible people they are.
Shows you they know how low the bar actually is, and also possibly shows you what terrible people they are.
Dr Oz on the guy who collapsed in the Oval Office: "The president, God bless him, called the wife from the Oval Office giving her updates on how her husband was doing. When you actually know the man as a human being, not as a political actor, you have to love him."
November 7, 2025 at 4:04 PM
People literally try to make us think this guy is nice by saying he did the absolute least required of a human being in interacting with other human beings.
Shows you they know how low the bar actually is, and also possibly shows you what terrible people they are.
Shows you they know how low the bar actually is, and also possibly shows you what terrible people they are.
Reposted by Rachael French
The Trump admin is making the planes run on time in the same way that Mussolini made the trains run on time—by not actually doing it, but by pressuring everyone to just say that’s what’s happening.
If you just cancel flights, then they're actually not late! Brilliant stuff from Sean Duffy here
November 7, 2025 at 2:59 PM
The Trump admin is making the planes run on time in the same way that Mussolini made the trains run on time—by not actually doing it, but by pressuring everyone to just say that’s what’s happening.
Reposted by Rachael French
Re-upping this:
I should mention this again: Worldbuilders Market worldbuildersmarket.com/search?q=mar... has Murderbot and Sanctuary Moon merchandise where the proceeds go to charity. At this point as far as I know there is no other licensed official merchandise.
Search: 16 results found for "martha wells"
Worldbuilders Market is the official online shop of Worldbuilders, a geek-centered nonprofit supporting humanitarian efforts worldwide. We carry a wide variety of officially licensed merchandise from ...
worldbuildersmarket.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Re-upping this:
Reposted by Rachael French
“How can we make it so that all human beings have enough?”
Superhuman intelligence: well the people who have way too much need to give something up
Techbros: no no no CHANGE THE ALGORITHM
Superhuman intelligence: well the people who have way too much need to give something up
Techbros: no no no CHANGE THE ALGORITHM
November 7, 2025 at 3:05 PM
“How can we make it so that all human beings have enough?”
Superhuman intelligence: well the people who have way too much need to give something up
Techbros: no no no CHANGE THE ALGORITHM
Superhuman intelligence: well the people who have way too much need to give something up
Techbros: no no no CHANGE THE ALGORITHM
Reposted by Rachael French
If a superhuman intelligence came into being and we said, “how do we end scarcity?” I promise you the people who had one hand on the plug to that superhuman intelligence would pull that plug if the AI gave the actual answer, because they don’t want to end scarcity.
November 7, 2025 at 3:04 PM
If a superhuman intelligence came into being and we said, “how do we end scarcity?” I promise you the people who had one hand on the plug to that superhuman intelligence would pull that plug if the AI gave the actual answer, because they don’t want to end scarcity.
Reposted by Rachael French
Every time a tech entrepreneur says “we don’t need to stop global warming because AI will” I want to slap them with a fish that says, “if a superhuman intelligence came into being and we asked it how to stop global warming, it would say ‘stop burning fossil fuels, you fools.’”
I’m going to regret asking this, but… what mechanism are people proposing whereby AI will “end scarcity”?
This feels like literal underpants gnomes thinking, and as I never tire of pointing out, it’s being driven by a lot of the same actual people
This feels like literal underpants gnomes thinking, and as I never tire of pointing out, it’s being driven by a lot of the same actual people
AI could end scarcity, end humanity - or boost trend growth by 0.2 percentage points
November 7, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Every time a tech entrepreneur says “we don’t need to stop global warming because AI will” I want to slap them with a fish that says, “if a superhuman intelligence came into being and we asked it how to stop global warming, it would say ‘stop burning fossil fuels, you fools.’”
Reposted by Rachael French
Why does this column exist?
November 6, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Why does this column exist?
I’m not sure how there could ever even be a question of whether a trillion dollar pay package was excessive.
Elon Musk wants a pay package worth $1 trillion.
But an emerging group of opponents argue the package is excessive, and some say Musk’s political and side ventures have put the company at risk.
But an emerging group of opponents argue the package is excessive, and some say Musk’s political and side ventures have put the company at risk.
Elon Musk’s ultimatum to Tesla: Make me a trillionaire or I may leave
A proposed pay package could make Tesla CEO Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire, but it faces resistance from shareholders and critics who say it’s unearned.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:08 PM
I’m not sure how there could ever even be a question of whether a trillion dollar pay package was excessive.
Reposted by Rachael French
A fun thing about the Prop 50 text on the ballot is that it explicitly says "Authorizes Temporary Changes to Congressional District Maps in Response to Texas’[s] Partisan Redistricting."
November 1, 2025 at 1:46 AM
A fun thing about the Prop 50 text on the ballot is that it explicitly says "Authorizes Temporary Changes to Congressional District Maps in Response to Texas’[s] Partisan Redistricting."
Reposted by Rachael French
roses are red
big laughs are hearty
big laughs are hearty
November 5, 2025 at 2:58 AM
roses are red
big laughs are hearty
big laughs are hearty
Reposted by Rachael French
BREAKING: Democrat Johnny DuPree has flipped a Republican-held Mississippi Senate district in a special election.
DuPree was previously the mayor of Hattiesburg.
His win imperils the Mississippi Senate GOP's narrow supermajority.
www.mississippifreepress.org/democrat-joh...
DuPree was previously the mayor of Hattiesburg.
His win imperils the Mississippi Senate GOP's narrow supermajority.
www.mississippifreepress.org/democrat-joh...
Democrat Johnny DuPree Flips Republican-Held Mississippi Senate District in Forrest County
Johnny DuPree, a Democrat who served as the mayor of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, for 16 years, has flipped a Republican-held Mississippi Senate seat.
www.mississippifreepress.org
November 5, 2025 at 3:18 AM
BREAKING: Democrat Johnny DuPree has flipped a Republican-held Mississippi Senate district in a special election.
DuPree was previously the mayor of Hattiesburg.
His win imperils the Mississippi Senate GOP's narrow supermajority.
www.mississippifreepress.org/democrat-joh...
DuPree was previously the mayor of Hattiesburg.
His win imperils the Mississippi Senate GOP's narrow supermajority.
www.mississippifreepress.org/democrat-joh...
Reposted by Rachael French
Bad night for sexual assaulters all around
November 5, 2025 at 3:29 AM
Bad night for sexual assaulters all around
Reposted by Rachael French
Weird, it's almost like most of the pundits are all hanging out at a white supremacist's social club for angry incels and having their sense of what's "real" wildly distorted.
Earle-Sears ran what felt like 12 billion ads about how much she hated trans kids and I didn’t hear a single pundit say she should stick to real issues that affect real people.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrat Abigail Spanberger wins Virginia governor’s race.
November 5, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Weird, it's almost like most of the pundits are all hanging out at a white supremacist's social club for angry incels and having their sense of what's "real" wildly distorted.
Reposted by Rachael French
News organizations are starting to call the New Jersey governor's race for Mikie Sherrill, and she recently called out one of my books as a recommendation, I'm not saying that recommending my books will nab you a governorship, but I am saying that the batting record so far is 1.000
November 5, 2025 at 1:32 AM
News organizations are starting to call the New Jersey governor's race for Mikie Sherrill, and she recently called out one of my books as a recommendation, I'm not saying that recommending my books will nab you a governorship, but I am saying that the batting record so far is 1.000
Reposted by Rachael French
Dick Cheney did more than anyone else to build up expansive and destructive executive branch powers in the wake of 9/11; he lived to see another president turn those same powers against his own daughter.
He should be a warning sign to the GOP today but too many of them are in the cult.
He should be a warning sign to the GOP today but too many of them are in the cult.
November 4, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Dick Cheney did more than anyone else to build up expansive and destructive executive branch powers in the wake of 9/11; he lived to see another president turn those same powers against his own daughter.
He should be a warning sign to the GOP today but too many of them are in the cult.
He should be a warning sign to the GOP today but too many of them are in the cult.
Reposted by Rachael French
If Democrats have to answer for their most fringe members then Republicans should have to answer for theirs. The most out-there Democrat is 1/50th as psychotic and harmful as the most out-there Republican.
I don't think it helps the debate about what Democrats should do to pick an obscure thing that some Democrat somewhere may have said -- like on teaching eighth grade algebra -- and then attribute it to Democrats generally.
November 4, 2025 at 1:56 PM
If Democrats have to answer for their most fringe members then Republicans should have to answer for theirs. The most out-there Democrat is 1/50th as psychotic and harmful as the most out-there Republican.